Entries in humor
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Emphasis on mild. The background to the little video is this: Bobby Fischer repeatedly played the Two Knights Variation against the Caro-Kann in the 1959 Candidates Tournament, with a serious lack of success. It got so bad that people who seldom or never played the Caro-Kann did so, as his results and the positions he received with the Two Knights were harmless at best. Fischer lost with it against Tigran Petrosian in round 2, drew with Vassily Smyslov in round 7 and then lost to Paul Keres - not a Caro-Kann practitioner - in round 8 (and then again in round 22).

So by the time of round 13, when Fischer faced Mikhail Tal with white for the first time in the tournament, this happened:

Tal fakes the move 1...c6 before giving the pawn a shove to c5, then offers a priceless smile to Fischer, who remains impassive. Fischer's non-reaction is a pity. Could he not take a joke (very possible), or was his poker face a matter of competitive strategy? As for the joke itself, it almost wasn't one. According to Tibor Karolyi (page 413 of his excellent Mikhail Tal's Best Games 1: The Magic of Youth) Tal seriously considered playing the Caro-Kann in that game. Fortunately for everyone but Fischer, he didn't, enabling us to enjoy his joke, his infectious grin, and the very nice game he went on to win.

It certainly took them long enough (Mikhail Tal was world champion in 1960 and died in 1992), but it's better late than never for the Riga City Council, which has decided to name a street in his honor. (HT: Brian Karen.) In addition to being a nice bit of news, this should also offer a rich opportunity for light jokes.

Here are some quick (and lame) offerings to get you started:

(1) Brits could say "Big deal, you should see how we honor GMs Adams and Jones here!"

(2) Sticking to a Tal theme, chess fans can only capture the road signs one at a time.

(3) There are two kinds of way to drive down this street: the correct way and mine.

A good opening book will discuss move order finesses. It's important to know that in a certain variation it's better to play A first and only then B, because in that way you cut out certain of the opponent's options. Well and good, but what about this, from Victor Bologan's new book on the King's Indian?

Or 8.Bf4 c5 9.d5 [further analysis ensues, all of which is supposed to be fine for Black]

Of course, the position is exactly the same in the two cases. Both times Black plays h6 and c5, and both times White plays Bf4 and d5. But if Black plays ...h6 first, then White is better, and if he plays ...c5 first, then White's not! It's for subtleties like this that I get opening books, and Bologan's ability to suss out such fine points makes it clear what a vast gulf there is between super-GMs and the rest of us.

(Seriously, though: this gaffe notwithstanding, I'm a fan of Bologan's writings in general and the book in particular. But I do wonder what he was thinking when he wrote that.)